Soccer By Ives

USL outcasts to launch new league in 2010

Six ownership groups that were previously part of the USL-First Division have joined forces with St. Louis Soccer United to form a new professional soccer league that will begin play in 2010.

The Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina Railhawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps have joined St. Louis in an as-yet-unnamed league that has submitted an application for the sanctioning of the new league as a Division 2 league. The league will apply to be a Division 1 league in Canada.

“This is not your typical new league,” said Montreal owner and league chairman Joey Saputo.  “Most of our teams have existed for years.  We have united some of the best owners, teams and markets around a new vision for a professional soccer league in North America.
 
“We look forward to elevating our teams and league in order to give more opportunities to players, coaches, media and sponsors, entertain our fans and play our role in helping soccer truly recognize its potential in the United States and Canada.”

Morning Ticker: N'Gog dives Liverpool to draw, Zlatan ponders Sweden retirement and more

by FRANCO PANIZO

Liverpool midfielder David N'Gog may have salvaged his club from losing against Birmingham on Monday, but he did so with one of the most highly-criticized dives in recent memory.

With Birmingham shockingly leading the hosts 2-1 in the second half, N'Gog dribbled into the penalty area before being brought down by midfielder Lee Carsley's sliding challenge. With a penalty kick awarded, Steven Gerrard calmly equalized, earning Liverpool a result for just the second time in their last five league games.

Replays, however, clearly showed Carsley never made contact, and N'Gog dove to earn the call.

The dive is currently under immense criticism, with some British newspapers labeling N'Gog a cheat.

Here are some more stories to help get your Tuesday started:

Kansas City to name Vermes head coach

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Peter Vermes took over as interim head coach of the Kansas City Wizards last summer to try and help the team turn around a disappointing season and to get a better sense of what the team needed heading into 2010. Wizards owners apparently believe the team needs Vermes to stay as head coach.

The Wizards will formally announce Vermes as the club's head coach at a press conference on Tuesday, sources told SBI on Monday. Vermes informed the team that he would stay on as head coach on Monday. No word yet on whether he will also retain his duties as the team's technical director.

Vermes replaced Curt Onalfo, who was fired in the middle of the season, on Aug. 4. The Wizards posted a 3-6-3 record under Vermes, but did finish 3-3-3 in its final nine matches.

Vermes' hiring leaves three current head coaching openings in MLS, with New York, D.C. United and Toronto FC all looking for head coaches. That number could rise to four if, as expected, Preki and Chivas USA part ways. The Chicago Fire looks less likely to join that group after reaching the Eastern Conference final, an accomplishment that should lead to the Fire and head coach Denis Hamlett working on a new contract.

What do you think of this move? Like the idea of Vermes staying on as head coach? Think the Wizards should have gone in another direction?

Share your thoughts below.

National Soccer Hall of Fame announces 24 finalists on 2010 Ballot

 

..........................Photo by ISIphotos.com

The National Soccer Hall of Fame released its final ballot for the Class of 2010 and the 24 former soccer players chosen represent a vast array of teams and eras.

Former U.S. national team standouts Earnie Stewart, Peter Vermes and Thomas Dooley, Women's national team stars Cindy Parlow and Shannon McMillan, as well as foreign-born MLS pioneers Marco Etcheverry, Peter Nowak and Carlos Valderrama are just some of the candidates on the ballot. And yes, SBI Mafia favorite John O'Brien is also on the ballot.

Voters will be able to select up to 10 candidates for entry, with all candidates that appear on 66.7 percent of ballots being inducted.

Here is the full list of candidates:

Mike Burns, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Raul Diaz Arce, Thomas Dooley, John Doyle, Marco Etcheverry, Robin Fraser, Chris Henderson, Eduardo Hurtado, Dominic Kinnear, Roy Lassiter, Shannon MacMillan, Joe-Max Moore, Victor Nogueira, Peter Nowak, John O’Brien, Cindy Parlow, Preki Radosavljevic, Mike Sorber, Earnie Stewart, Steve Trittschuh,Carlos Valderrama, Tisha Venturini-Hoch, Peter Vermes.

I will put up a post with a poll for SBI readers to vote on who they think should make the 2010 Hall of Fame class, but for now, what do you think of this group? Who would make your ballot? If you could only select one person for your ballot, who would get your vote?

Share your thoughts below.

Big East Tournament Wrap: UConn knocked out, Louisville squeaks into semifinals

The mighty fall quickly when tournament time comes around. With the Big East tournament now heading into the semifinals, the University of Connecticut won't be around contending for the conference title. Continuing a strong upset run in the postseason, the Providence Friars took care of the Huskies in a 1-0 double-overtime contest. Junior Matt Marcin grabbed the game's only goal, sending the fifth-seeded Friars into the semis.

The Friars are joined in the semifinals by St. John's, who easily defeated Rutgers by a 3-0 score. The Red Storm have bounced back nicely and are hitting a decent run of form, one that could be good enough to secure a NCAA tournament bid.

It wasn't as easy for the remaining two schools that went through. Notre Dame quickly fell behind 2-0 against South Florida in the 23rd minute. Senior Forward Bright Dike pulled one back for the Irish before the interval, who then left it late, getting an 83rd minute equalizer. After two goal-less overtimes, the Irish knocked home all five penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals when USF's Sebastian Thuriere could only connect with the crossbar.

Rounding out the final four is No. 5 Louisville, who also needed penalty kicks to dispatch DePaul. The two sides were all square at 1-1 after two overtimes, with the Cardinals taking the last semifinal spot with a 3-2 advantage from the spot.

What do you think of the results? Surprised to see UConn knocked out? Anyone going to stop Louisville?

Share your thoughts below.

EPL Week 11: A Look Back

by TRAVIS CLARK

Will there ever be a Chelsea-Manchester United match-up that won't involve referee criticisms? Whenever Sir Alex and his side end up losing -- especially in a match with such stakes -- comments from the often critical Scotsman almost always lashes out at the ref shortly after the final whistle.

This time around was no different, as Ferguson felt slighted on the free kick leading up to Chelsea's goal, not to mention the questionable position/involvement of striker Didier Drogba. While decesions were contentious, United had infringements of their own. Of course Sir Alex fails to mention the karate kick delivered by Jonny Evans straight to Drogba's chest, or the fact that Evans scythed Roberto Carvalho down seconds after a whistle had been blown.

That doesn't make up for United's lack of a killer instinct in the final third, as the Red Devils seemed to rely too much on Wayne Rooney. It was a match where neither side was clearly dominant, and a lone goal from John Terry made up the difference at Stamford Bridge. The result puts Chelsea five points clear of Arsenal and United at the top of the table.

Lyon and Marseille put on ten-goal thriller

If you weren't satifisfied with the nine goals scored in the four MLS playoff games this past weekend, you certainly would have gotten your fill of goals if you were lucky enough to see Lyon and Marseille battle to a 5-5 draw on Sunday.

Lyon edged closer to first-place Bordeaux with the tie, but will feel disappointed at not having been able to secure the three points in a match it led on three different occasions.

Here are the highlights from one of the season's most exciting matches so far:

What did you think of the match? What was the last goal-fest you watched? Hoping for ten goals combined in the rest of the MLS playoffs?

Share your thoughts below.

SBI European Club Top 25

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Chelsea won the first battle of EPL heavyweights on Sunday when the Blues knocked off defending champion Manchester United, and while the victory didn't help Chelsea take over the top spot in the SBI European Club Top 25, it has the Blues piling even more pressure on No. 1 Barcelona.

Manchester United tumbled down to fifth after the loss and those wondering why Chelsea didn't move into the No. 1 spot, look no further than its mid-week 2-2 draw vs. Atletico Madrid. Yes, Barcelona drew against Rubin Kazan, but Rubin Kazan is proving to be a very good team and moves up to eighth in this week's rankings.

Several teams moved up this week, including red-hot Arsenal, which moved past Manchester United in the EPL standings and our Top 25.

Two new teams entered the Top 25 this week, with FC Twente shooting up the list after its victory against Ajax, and with Valencia continuing its winning ways in Spain. The week's biggest gainers, aside from Twente, were AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen. Milan continued its unbeaten run with a draw vs. Real Madrid and Serie A victory, while Leverkusen increased its lead atop the Bundesliga standings (and yes, its lack of European competition is why Leverkusen isn't ranked higher).

Here is how this week's SBI European Club Top 25 shakes out:

Philly Union to officially announce Hackworth as assistant

 

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Philadelphia Union will be selecting its first players in just two weeks when Major League Soccer holds the Expansion Draft and Union head coach Peter Nowak will have his lead assistant coach in place for the draft.

The Union will announce the hire of former U.S. national team assistant John Hackworth today, sources told SBI on Monday. Hackworth was in Chester, Pa. working with Nowak and fellow assistant Josh Gros as recently as last week.

Hackworth and Nowak worked as assistant coaches under U.S. head coach Bob Bradley and Hackworth is expected to play a key role in the establishment of Philadelphia's youth academy set-up, having been the head coach of the Under-17 national team.

The U.S. national team has yet to hire Hackworth's replacement, but former D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn and Chivas USA head coach Preki are two candidates to join Bradley's staff.

What do you think of Hackworth's hire? Excited for the upcoming Expansion Draft? Who do you see Philadelphia landing?

Share your thoughts below.

USMNT names 22-man squad for Slovakia friendly

MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham, veteran goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and Fulham striker Eddie Johnson are three of the 22 players called up by Bob Bradley for Saturday's friendly against Slovakia (10am, Fox Soccer Channel).

Bradley called in a mostly full-strength squad of available players, with Tim Howard and Landon Donovan among those not called in for this match. According to U.S. Soccer, Bradley will consider changes to the squad for the Nov. 18 match against Denmark.

Here is the full 22-man squad selected for Slovakia:

GOALKEEPERS- Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga)

DEFENDERS- Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)

MIDFIELDERS- Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS- Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)

Donovan, Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark and Brian Ching will miss the Slovakia match as they prepare for the  MLS Western Conference final between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo on Friday, while Mexican-based players Jose Francisco Torres and Edgar Castillo will miss the match in preparation for Saturday's match between Torres' Pachuca and Castillo's Tigres, a match Pachuca needs to qualify for the Mexican playoffs.

So what will the starting lineup look like on Saturday: Here's one potential lineup: